Soul Mates
by milford
Summary: A short story from Terry's point of view. Story complete.


Disclaimer: S&H don't belong to me unfortunately, and story is for entertainment purposes only. No profit being made.

Soul Mates

Thoughts from Starsky's Lady

Terri's POV

By Milford

I don't think I ever believed in soul mates before. I mean, the idea of two entirely different people being so completely connected was hard for me to understand. Three things happened to change my mind. Firstly, I met David Michael Starsky, secondly I met Kenneth Hutchinson, and thirdly, I fell in love with David Michael Starsky. Any preconceived ideas I'd had about friendships/partnerships, were blown away when I first came across the two men who were to mean so much to me. I'll deal with their relationship first, for in many ways it is harder to understand than what I shared with David.

Two entirely different men - one tall, blond, aristocratic looking man, who came from a wealthy family in Duluth. One not so tall, in fact almost scruffy, dark and curly haired, volatile man from a Jewish family in New York. One who'd had to struggle through life; one who had most things handed to him. To be honest, I'm not sure I liked Ken straight away. There is something almost forbidding and aloof about him when you first meet him. He has a direct stare that seems to bore straight through you, and I felt a moment's pity for the criminals who crossed his path. I was intimidated, and I was Dave's girlfriend. I realized afterwards the reason I was subjected to the

penetrating glare was because I was Dave's girlfriend. I was to learn very quickly, just how protective Ken was about Dave, and it was then I began to understand the incredible friendship these two very different men shared.

I met Dave when I went to the precinct to report a stolen driver's license. I remember him standing at the door staring at me. If any other man had given me such a stare, I would doubtless have been uneasy, if not downright annoyed, but even then I sensed something special about him, and I found myself responding by smiling. I couldn't help it, even though I'd never been a flirt. He came over to me and introduced himself. I was bowled over--and we found ourselves drinking cups of coffee at the cafeteria. Any of my friends would tell you how out of character this was for me, but this special man had my heart right from the start. He was very attractive to look at, and I soon realized his personality matched and I found myself agreeing to have dinner with him.

Dinner was a great success and I was relaxed and happy with a man I'd only known for a few hours. We laughed and found we had many things in common. I jokingly said I felt like I'd made a new best friend. He laughed, but we both knew it wasn't a joke. We'd found something very special. Apart from his attractive appearance and gentle character, I learned something else from

that first night, and that was his deep and abiding loyalty to his partner, Hutch. I found all my previous perceptions about cops disappearing like they had never existed. This lovely man was so unlike my idea of what cops were like, and hearing him talk about his partner, I found myself hoping and praying his partner was deserving of such a friend. Even then, I found my protective instincts were coming out for David Starsky. I also realized that Hutch was going to figure into our equation and when it came time for us to meet, I was slightly nervous. Everything felt so right about Dave and I wanted it to work out, but somehow I felt this unknown partner was going to be a key.

At first I felt my fears were justified. Ken Hutchinson was intimidating. We'd arranged to go out to dinner and he was dating an extremely glamorous looking blond girl. I felt very uneasy, until Dave took my hand. I never wanted to let go. Ken was very polite but somehow his politeness seemed forced and I found myself wondering what on earth did these two men have in common. Surely Dave had overstated their friendship. Then Ken smiled at something Dave had said, and I saw the warmth in the smile which softened his face so much. I must have said something too that amused him, for the smile was turned in my direction. Suddenly the tension dissipated and we were all laughing and I took another look at this enigmatic man. I saw that the warmth was there, and I saw the caring was there. Sure they bantered and teased each other but I knew it was okay, and my Dave had it right after all. He did have a remarkable friend and partner.

After that night, we mostly did double date. Sometimes just the three of us met and had dinner. Somehow three wasn't an awkward number when it was us. I had passed the Hutchinson test and I felt warm and welcome in their tight little world. I grew to love Hutch, not only for caring about my Dave so much, but for himself. As he let his guard down, I started to discover the true Ken Hutchinson, the one who kept hidden from the world. He was a strange mixture in some ways, but he was a good and caring man. Just like my Dave. His "cold" attitude was something he presented to the world, probably to protect himself from being hurt. I sensed he'd suffered hurt in his life, perhaps as much as Dave, although in a different form. It was then I started to rethink the soul mates issue. If there was such a thing, then David Michael Starsky and Kenneth Hutchinson were that, and perhaps I could even count myself lucky enough to be included. They both loved me, in their different ways, and I felt on top of the world. Life was good, really good.


End file.
